Brake



' 0ct.'30, 1945. A. o. WILLIAMS BRAKE Filed March 11, 1944 Sheets-,Sheetl Oct. 30, 1945. A. .0.l WILLIAMS BRAKEl Filedv March ll, 1944 5Sheets-Sheet 2 Oct. 30, 1945..l

A. o. WILLIAMS BRAKE 5 Sheets-Sheet" 5 Filed March l1, 1944 J/d Je /Jef'INVENTOR.

Patented oet. 30, 194s UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE BRAKE y Alfred 0.Williams, Battle Creek, Mich., assigner Clark Equipment Company, Mich.,a corporation o f Michigan Buchanan,

VApplication March 11, 1944, Serial No. 528,057 s'claims. (ci. iss-ros)This invention relates to brakes, and more vparticularly is directed toa propeller shaft brake employed for applying braking effort between asource of driving torque and a driving axle.

In the form of the invention herein disclosed and described, the brakemechanism lis shown as applied to` a propellershaft brake extendingbetween the propeller shaft leading from an electric motor toga driveaxleof a rail vehicle such as a Streetcar, subway car or similar transitunit.

In my copending application Serial No. 504,214 led September 29, 1943,Patent No. 2,365,369,

Dec. 19, 1944, I have disclosed a Streetcar truck having a propellershaft brake embodied therein, which brake is in the form of a disccarried by the" pinion shaft leading into the axle housing.

`'I'he present invention contemplates a brake of the external shoe type,the drum being mountflange portion 8 to which is bolted the annularbrake drum member Ill, this member being cylindrical in form and, asshown, being arranged for conjoint rotation with the propeller shaft towhich the pinion shaft is connected. A suitable shield plate or disc I2is also mounted in position to shield the braking surface and brakeshoes from any possible oil leakage out through the nose of the housing1.

Bolted to the nose of the housing 1, as indicated in more detail inFigure 3, is a flanged member Il having a laterally extending earportion I5, an

angularly extending ear portion I8, and downwardly extending parallelboss portions I1 ed on the pinion shaft and the brakingl eort bes ingapplied through a pair of pivotally mounted shoes which are normally'spread .apart by springs toward brake released position.

One of the objects cf the present invention is to provide a brakeconstruction of this type which is readily adaptable to vehicles now inoperation, and can be mounted thereon without any major change in designor construction.

adapted to receive pivot pins I8 which are bolted thereto. u

The pivot pins I8 are securely mounted -in the boss portions I1 of theflange Il and are adapted` to receive pivotally mounted arms I9 to whichare secured the ends 20 of brake shoe members 22. The brake shoe members22 are provided. on their inner arcuate surfaces with brake linings 23adapted to have braking engagement with the Another object of theinvention is to provide ra. simple type of actuating means for thebrake,

operated either by fluid pressure cr air with provision for handoperation of the brakes in the event of power 'failure or for parking.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will bemcreapparent from the following detail description which, taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings, will disin Figure 1 there isdisclosed an axle housing 5 having the enlarged gear enclosing portion 8which encircles and encloses the ring gear mounted on the axle shaft anddriven by a pinion shaft extending throughthe nose 1 of the gear housing8. This pinion shaft is provided with a flanged -sleeve or coupling 8terminating in a radial surface of the brake drum I0.

It will be noted that the arms I8 are arranged for pivotal movementabout the pins I8, as shown in detail in Figure 1, and the ends 20 ofthebrake shoes 22 are secured to the arms I8 by means ofy the studs 2|,suitable shims 25 being interposed' therebetween for purposes ofadjustment. Thus. the brake shoes 22 are supported for pivotal movementabout the pins I8 carried by the boss portion I1 of the flange memberIl.

The member I4, as shown, is secured tothe en'd ci.' the nose portion ofthe housing 1 by means of a series of circumferentially spaced boltswhich are indicated vin'liigure 1 at 28 and which may be readilyremovable for disassembling the entire brake construction from. thehousing 8 or for assembling the same thereto without requiring any majorchange in the housing construction.

'Ihe laterally extending ear I5 of the flange member Il is adapted toreceive a downwardly 21 forming a portion of the extending flangehousing 28 whichprovides the cylinder for the aii""or fluid operatedpiston. The cylinder 28 is A provided with an end cap 28, bolted orotherwise secured and within this end `cap there is disposed a recess 38communicting through the passageway 32 with the port,, 83 ;by means ofwhich fluid may be introducedun'der pressure into the outer end of thecylinder 3l; Disposed within the cylinder 84 is a piston of any desiredconstruction having the axially extending pistonrod 38 projectingthereto, closing the endof the cylinder,

outwardly through the reduced guide portion 21 oithebodymember andconnectedexternally of the housing 22 to apair of arm members 2l whichare bolted thereto as by means of bolt 2l.

.The arm members 22 extend substantially lon' gitudinaliy of the pistonrod 22, and adjacent their outer ends are bolted to opposite sides ofthe end 4I of a pull arm I2 which is pivotallysecuredtothename2!lrymeansotthebolt-.`

IIlie arm l2 at its opposite end vis connected to ,one end llof a bellcrank member Il which -aseaios y clockwise direction. The free end ofthe an'nx'12 indicated at 12 is adapted to receive the loop end memberis pivotally mounted intermediate itsV ends by the pin It betweenoppositely extending I lug portions I1 formed at the upper end oi' oneof the brake shoes 22. The opposite end of the bell crank indicated atI2 is adapted to receive link members 4I extending between the end I8 ofthe bell crank 42 and the end 50 of asecond bell crank 52 mountedbetoween'the lug portions l2 ofthe opposite brake shoes 22. ,Theopposite end of the bell crank 52, indicated at 54,'is' anchored bymeans of thelink 55 to a support 56 carried by the normally extendingilange portion able screw 14.

11 of a' cable member 12 which cable member is connected inl anysuitable manner to a hand brake operating lmechanism preferably disposedadjacent the driver of the vehicle. An extension 12 on theend 1t of thelever or crank 12 is adapted to receive one 'end oi a coil spring member20, the opposite end of which is anchored in a flanged plate Il boltedto the housing i as indicated at y22. The tension of the spring 2| holdsthe crank member 12 against counterclockwise rotation byv abutment ofthe lug portion 12 with the adjust- However, when the hand brakemechanism is operated the crank arm 12 is rotated in a. clockwisedirection against the tension of the spring 82- and upon predeterminedrotation the ear 84 of the crank arm 12 moves into engagement 4with theear 25 of the crank arm 21 as clearly shown in Figure 3, so that furtherclockwise rotation of crank 12 results in clockwise rotation of the arm81. The rotation of this arm is in eil'ect similar and produces the samemovement as' actuation of the piston 25, since it draws the arms 22outwardly away from .the housing 28, thereby exerting a pull on the rod22 and, in turn, actuating the brakes in the same manner as if thepiston has been actuated. .Upon release of the hand brake mechanism theslack insure of springs 59 and 60 biased between'the l flange 51 and thesubstantially radially extending ends 62 of the brake shoes 22.

Thus, when fluid under pressureis admitted to troduced in the cable 18,in turn, is taken up by the spring 80 returning the parts ,to theposition shown in Figure 2. It is thus apparent that the hand brakemechanism can be employed to actuy ate ithe brake. mechanism insubstantially the the cylinder 3l the piston, moves outwardly tending tomove the arms 22 therewith. This results in a pull on the rod l2,tending to rotate the -bell crank 45 in a clockwise direction. VThis,

' in turn, throughv the arms I9 imparts a similar clockwise rotation tothe bell crank 52. However, this bell crank being anchored at itsopposite end results in a movement of the fulcrum 58 inwardly toward theiiange 51 and at the same time the fulcrum 46 of the bell crankli'alsomoves inwardly, thereby applying the brake shoes rmly same manner as itis actuated by the power actuating mechanism, and that because of thelost `motion connection between 4the crank arms 12 and 61 the hand brakemechanism does not interfere yat all with normal operation of thebraking device under the iniluence of air or fluid pressure.

It is therefore believed apparent that I have provided a novel type ofbrake mechanism which can be adapted to vehicles of the type noQw in Iuse, since removal of the brake drum and the flange member i4 results indisassembly of the entire brake mechanism from the housing, it

against the external annular surface of the brake drum l2. y v

Upon release of the fluid pressure, the spring 5 2 and 60 immediatelyact to spread the brake shoes and return the piston 25 to the positionshown in Figure 2 thereby releasing the braking action.

In addition to the semi-automatic operation of I the'brakes through theiiuid actuating piston,1 however, it is also desirable to provide'm'eansfor actuating the brakes when the power is of! as, for example, when thevehicle is being parked lor storage or repair or under similarsituations, or

emergency conditions. To accomplish this result I have provided at theends of the arms 22 a secbeing understood, of' course, that thespring 20must be disengaged and the cable 12 released. However, it is notnecessary to interfere with any portion of the axle construction or withany portion of the propeller shaft construction except the 'universaljoint indicated at 9o to which the pinion flange s is connected. 'I'hisuniversal,

joint is in turn connected to the propeller shaft leading fromthe motorof the vehicle and extends under the cross frame member 92, formondpivot pin B5 which pivotally secures the end -62 of a crank arm "betweenthese arms. The

crank arm t1 is provided at its opposite end with an enlarged bossportion 22 mounted upon a stud l2 secured in the laterally extendingilange por-4 tion 1I'of the angularly extending ears It of thel memberil. Mounted on the pin I9 above the end 22 ofthe crank 01 is a secondcrank member 12 shown in more detail in Figure 2, and provided with anoset'depending ear portion 12 as shownin Flguresi and2 'I'he ear portion12 is adapted to beengagedbyan adjustable screw member 1.4 ,v carried byan extension 15 of theflang'e 1li limitlns rotation of the crank arm 12in a countering a part of the. truckconstruction as shown in' detail inmy copending application referred tol above.'

I am aware that certain changes may be made 4in the details of thepresent construction without in any way departing'from the principles,of my invention, and I therefore do not intend to be limited except asdefined by the'scope and spirit of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. The combination, with e, ring gear housing.- l having a nose portionthrough which a drive shaft extends. of a brake drum mounted onsaidshaft, a supporting member detachably secured to saidnose portion ofsaid housing about said shaft, and braking means mounted on said mem.

ber and including a pair of pivotally mounted brake shoes for engagingsaid drum, an actuating piston, and actuating means includingintereonnected levers carriedby said shoes and piston for simultaneouslyengaging said Yshoes with said drum, a pivotally mounted bell crankconnected to said actuating means, and a manually rotatable crank havingabutment means for engaging f said bell crank to operate said actuatingmeans independently of said piston.

2. The combination, with a ring gear housing having a nose portionthrough which a drive shaft extends, of a brake drum mounted on saidshaft, a member detachably secured to said nose portion adjacent saiddrum about said shaft, and

braking means carried by and removable with said member, comprising apair of brake shoes pivotally supported thereby, a cylinder mountedthereon having a piston therein, means including bell cranks pivoted onadjacent ends of said 'shoes and connected to said piston for engagingsaid shoes with said drum upon admission of iluid under pressure to saidcylinder, and spring means biased between the free ends of said shoesand an intermediate portion of said member normally urging said shoesaway from said drum.

3. In combination, a brake drum having an external annular brakingsurface, a piston arranged at right angles to said drum and having anextending actuating arm, a pivotally mounted crank supporting the freeend of said arm, a pair y of brake shoes pivotally supported at adjacentends and partially encircling said drum, bellcrank lev'ers pivotallymounted intermediate `their ends on the adjacent free ends of said shoesand having their corresponding ends interconnected, one of said bellcranks having its opposite end anchored, spring means normally tendingto spread the free ends of said shoes apart, and means interconnectingthe opposite end of said other bell crank and an intermediate portion ofsaid piston arm whereby actuation of said piston tends to force saidshoes into engagement with said drum, and a manually operable crankmounted coaxially with said first-named crank `and rotatable in onedirection to actuate said rst-named crank for engaging said shoes, saidcranks having free movementvin the opposite direction.

4. In combination, a rotatable brake drum, a.

pair of brake shoes partiallyV encircling said drum, a supporting memberproviding pivotal support for the adjacent ends of said shoes, acylinder supported by said member, a piston therein, meansinterconnecting-said pis-ton and the free ends of said shoes, a crankarm pivotally supported by said member and connected to saidinterconnecting means, a second crank arm pivotally mountedabove saidfirst arm and connected to a remotely disposed manual Operating `means,and interengaging ears between said ends of said shoes, means supportedby said.

member for pivotal movement including a rst element connected to saidinterconnecting means, a second elementdisposed coaxially thereabove andconnected to a manual operating means, and

interengaging ear means between said elements' operative only uponactuation of said second element for rotating said first element totransmit brake applying movement to said interconnect- ALFRED o.

